The tanks of the late 50s - gotta love em'.

These are the top of the line models (just below Cadillac, Lincoln and Imperial) from each American car division for 1959:

1959 Buick Electra 225:



1959 Mercury Park Lane:



1959 Chrysler New Yorker:

The Electra is about as close to what I would really have liked and that would have been the "finnage" (word?) of the 1959 Chevy Impala/Belair line...

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M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
.
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

Yeah, the 60' was much the same, but slightly toned down.... pretty much the same story for most of the 1960 cars.... they were basically "toned down" 1959 models.

According to the poll, its just like it was way back in 1959... Buick was the top seller over these other models.

Two and a Quarter FTW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

I too like the "wild" baroque fins of the '59 Chevy. It was downhill for fins from that point on.....

Rick

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

Yes - a 1959 Impala 4dr sedan is one of my favorites.

None of the above. I'll take a 59 El Camino. Freaking Sweet!!!! Gotta love the football/cateye taillights and fins big enough to surf off of.

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79 MB 280 SEL Euro 133k
77 MB 450SL 154k
05 Mustang GT Vert (3) 104k
12 TSX Wagon Tech (66k) (192k)
06 Subaru Outback base (135k) 164k
16 Acura MDX (109k) 111k
18 Silverado 2500 LTZ Midnight (212) 56k
97 Ford Ranger 163k
11 RAV4 154k
01 Escape 173k
04 Honda Pilot 292k
1967 Mustang (Resto Project)
1968 Mustang (Parts Bin)
00 Ford Ranger 124k

Just a thought. Were these actually poor quality cars? If not, why are there not any of them around any more? Not that I see too many 59 Mercedes but at least I know that they still exist.

They rusted. Rusted away into nothing. That....coupled with american "use it up in 7-8 years and toss it"....mentality. There's probably still a few out there. But at 5mpg....you'd probably not use it as a daily driver!

A 1959 MB diesel would be just as reliable/efficient to use daily as many modern cars! Crazy.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

But much, MUCH slower.

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

Well, these were fairly expensive cars in their time, and who knows how many Impalas were made for each one of these. 20 years fron now, young people will be dumbstruck that these cars were actually owned by individuals and operated on public streets!

Another thing is I will bet that factory support for ANY parts on any of these cars is zero, and there isn't enough demand for repro. I am amazed that you can practically build a 55-56-57 Chevy from repro parts, and you really CAN build a 69 Camaro from repro or licensed parts.

I don't think it would be fun to own a car like the above, where any damage effectively totals it.

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86 560SL
With homebrew first gear start!
85 380SL
Daily Driver Project

http://juliepalooza.8m.com/sl/mercedes.htm

You can't be comparing apples to oranges.. Remember back then we had leaded gas, which pretty much killed engines at 80k give or take. Lubed the valve seals sure, but left so much carbon behind it clogged everything. Diesel formula hasn't changed in years, til 06 with the ULSD. Besides, tractors back then got a few mpg, and they still get a few mpg. So, on that point, yes they are as reliable/efficient. lol I wouldn't use any car from that age as a dd. As has been said, one parking lot ding, and you lose half the value.

None of the above. I would take a TR3 or a sweet MGA.

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Anders

1995 E300
2015 VW TDI Sportwagen 15K
1977 240D (197K)
2002 Subaru Legacy L Wagon (115k) (Wife's)
Gone but not forgotten:
2005 Buick LeSabre
1998 C230
1984 300D
1983 240D
1981 300SD
1974 240D
1974 Fiat 124 Spider
1968 Triumph TR250

You left Cadillac off of that list of land yachts! In black, they looked like bloated bat-mobiles.

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1984 300TD

HaHa.... it has to be a 1959 Edsel!....
A total dog , but they incorporated the "vagina" grill , which BMW later adopted and got a great run with it .

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1993 190E 2.6 135k
1989 Ford Thunderbird SC 5 Spd 79K